Good GOD Mumsnet tips actually work!

[stinkingbishop]

1. Have smeared the twins' cradle cap liberally with rapeseed oil, left, combed through, left Dentinox on in the bath for ten mins, rinsed through, and it all came off in big satisfying clumps. I got a bizarre amount of pleasure from this.

1. I bit the bullet and got Plumbs round to reupholster my awkwardly shaped sofa and it's gorgeous! And the covers are just about less tricky to take on and off than a sleeping bag is to put back in its bag IYKWIM and they're machine washable. I, embarrassingly, may have punched the air. I need to get out more.

1. Storing complete bedding sets inside one of the pillow cases has led to uncrumpled sheets and duvets that MATCH.

1. Tomatoes out of the fridge are sweet and juicy.

I is DELIGHTED with the MN service. Please continue revolutionising my life .

Use cheap talc for getting sand off damp feet. Saves children getting sore feet when putting shoes on after the beach.
Use it to stop ants invading too, sprinkle it round doors, saves taking nasty chemicals with you on holiday.

magnets Just read what I wrote - don't mean just one screw - mean just one side of the radiator!

Rollermum I think taking high chair straps off & chucking them in the washing machine is probably quicker in the end. Also the seat cover - in fact I'd never buy another high chair or sofa without removable covers.

Someone asked about cleaning leather sofas- use baby wipes!

You might suck the radiator off the wall with a really strong magnet...

PS I took my high chair straps off and soaked in bleach, rinsed well, then Milton's, which worked pretty well.

If you mix 2 teaspoons of cornmeal (can get from health food shops or asian markets) with half a teaspoon a sugar it makes a safe antkiller. They carry it to the nest and as soon as they drink after eating it it swells.

If you have a wriggly baby quickest way to put a babygro on is fasten legs first slip on legs sit baby up and then fasten rest.

Does anyone have a tip for removing cigarette smoke from a car? Our new car stinks on a warm day.

sizzles - try sprinkling all over the upholstery and carpet with bicarb, leave it at least overnight then vacuum off - very good at absorbing odours , then spritz with a water spray with lavender oil or similar in so you get a nicer smell instead

or see if you can borrow/rent a steam cleaner from someoene

If someone (Thanks, DD) does a poo which gets stuck and won't flush and blocks the toilet, you don't have to stick your hand down the loo. Put 2 kettlefulls of boiling water in a bucket. Add a generous amount of washing up liquid, about 2 big squirts. Pour this down the loo and leave down for an hour or so and then flush. The poo will have been broken down and will flush.

phantomnamechanger thanks! I have left a bowl of bicarbonate in there tonight to see if absorbs anything. So sad DH is so proud of his new car.

You could also try carpet shampoo on the car, Sizzles. Give the bicarbonate a go first because it'll remove the smell, but carpet shampoo leaves a perfume which might mask any remaining pong.

We've jet washed our front seats in the past when they've got sweaty. Does a great job but you need a couple of sunny days to dry them out afterwards.

My sock tip is to hang them up to dry in pairs. You generally tend to have a bit more time when you're sorting wet washing to hang, so it isn't much of a chore. It also means you know to re-check the machine for lurkers if you end up with an odd one, meaning fewer get lost.

Then when you're rushing to get washing in before it rains, you can ball up the dry pairs and the job is done.

Ok MsJupiter, I've got 150g SR flour and 125ml of natural yoghurt - now what? (Tip for making easy pizza dough, about half way through thread.)

Do you just chuck it in a bowl and mix it?

My top tip to remove the smell of sick from a carpet/ car. Clean as normal and leave to dry fully. ( it's vital it's completely dry! ) sprinkle with bicarbonate of soda and leave for 12 hours and then vacuum up. Smell will be all gone. Works for cat or dog piss too.

I second that mygoldfish sorted my car out more than once... (travel sick DD1)
Only didn't work once on the vilest, stomach bug, off milk watery sick in my car (actually probably cos I couldn't clean the sick up very quickly - it sat there for maybe a day ) - what finally cleared that was time and steam cleaning...
You can get something they use if someone is sick on a plane - you sprinkle it on the sick straight away and it stops the smell..I was going to get some after that and never got round to it -
Now they are older I have freezer bags in the back for emergency sick bags Never use a carrier bag! - they have holes in them! (nothing like being relieved you managed to get child to catch it in a bag - then watching the sick dribble out the holes at the bottom...)

sizzle I use vinegar to get rid of smells in my car (and all the other soft furnishings that DS2 has peed on). Dilute it with water if you want to save money, or put it on neat on really smelly areas, just spray it on. The vinegar will smell for a few hours, but when it dissipates you car will be left smelling nice and fresh.

re: sick bags - when we travel on ferries we always get loads, and I keep them in the car for emergencies..

I use car windscreen wash to clean the windows in the house.I just pour some into an empty spray bottle .It's cheap and DH alwayd has a huge container full in the garage -don't use the winter one with added antifreeze though.

Re the magnets stuck down the radiator-after removing the cover ,unwind a metal coathanger and use this to hook them out.

Right. I have covered my new kitchen cupboard tops with old wallpaper. I have bought some cheap bio powder to clean the paths and I have smeared my oven with bicarb paste. That last one didn't work too well.
A spaghetti taper is genius.

Talcum powder and ants? How does this work?

If you sprinkle talc where the ants are getting in they won't cross it, i guess it clogs them up somehow.
I've also read that if you mix icing sugar and bicarb the ants eat it and then the bicarb reacts with the acid in their bodies and they die. Haven't tried that though, just the talc thing on holiday in mobile homes, it saves you worrying about using chemicals with small DC's around.

Just though of another

If you drop egg shell into a cracked egg use the used egg shell to scoop it out. It sort of sticks to the shell rather than sliding off

teeny yes just give it a mix with a spoon then a bit of knead and roll or flatten into your pizza base. Add plenty toppings and put in oven on 180 until done (10-20 mins depending how you like it).

Thank you MsJupiter, I'll give it a go - as soon as I've lost a few pounds on Weight Watchers!